Vienna Wang

While it can be tempting to throw away (or drop off at Goodwill) any and everything that no longer brings us joy, there are so many options that are better for the planet! This month, I will declutter my home and properly dispose or re-home the things I no longer want.

Eliminating 100% of all plastic from our lives simply isn't possible. Throughout this month, I will embrace imperfection in my plastic-free journey while exploring and testing new ways to reduce my plastic footprint.

The only thing worse than a single-use item is a zero-use item! I will use (and use up) what I already have in my home before buying something new.

The numbers #1-7 on plastics tell us a lot - and can help us be better recyclers. I will learn what these numbers mean and which types of plastics are accepted for recycling in my area.

I will calculate my ecological footprint, and from the results brainstorm and take action on ways I can reduce my annual footprint.

I will spend 5 minutes learning about the costs of fast fashion and begin trying to practice sustainable fashion in my own life.

While most stores offer lenient return policies, what actually happens to all of those returns? I will spend 4 minutes learning about what happens to returns and how I can make better purchasing decisions to avoid returns in the future.

The average paperback book has the same carbon footprint of driving about 7 miles (11 km) in an average car. Instead of purchasing new books this month, I will borrow books, e-books, and/or audiobooks from my local library or library-affiliated apps, or host a book swap with my friends.

I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.

Because many tea bags and most sleeves and sachets contain plastic, I will switch to using loose leaf tea.

There's value in our old electronics! This month, I will properly recycle any old laptops, tablets, cell phones, or other electronics I have lying around so the raw materials can be reused and reduce demand for virgin materials - thereby also protecting critical wildlife habitat for animals such as gorillas and forest elephants.

To extend the life of my ink cartridges, I will set my printer default to draft mode to use less ink or toner per print job.

I will conduct a waste audit of my trash and recycling to understand how much waste I create and create a plan for where I can reduce the most.

Every single textile ever made will, at some point, become worn out - and dealing with that waste costs millions of tax dollars every year. I will spend 5 minutes learning about the different types of textile recycling and creating a plan for what I'll do with my clothes and other textiles when they are too worn out to use anymore.

Plastic sheets coated in softeners, lubricants, and fragrances, dryer sheets just aren't great for the planet or our bodies. Instead, I will use wool dryer balls or another plastic-free alternative to dryer sheets to keep my clothes static-free.

The chasing arrows symbol we associate with recycling doesn't always actually mean something is recyclable. I will spend at least 10 minutes learning the different meanings the symbol can have.

Prioritizing whole foods is one of the most effective ways to avoid single-use plastic in the kitchen, since most whole foods can be purchased without any packaging. This month, I will prepare 1 whole foods-based meals at home each day.

Whenever possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when shopping, including produce bags. I will either use my own reusable bags, or keep my items loose.

Whether I'm at work, on the go, or having food delivered, I will keep 2 plastic cutlery out of the landfill per day by using my own reusable cutlery.